“I like barbecue as much as the next guy, but sometimes it feels like you just licked an ashtray,” says Bottega chef Michael Chiarello. To give his short ribs a subtle smoky flavor, he brines the meat overnight, cold-smokes it for four hours (he uses Cabernet canes from January through June, and oak or alder the rest of the year), then braises it for 12 hours. “Brining and cold smoking gives the meat a gentle smoke that goes all the way through,” Chiarello says.